California Air Resources Board

Principal Investigator/Author(s): Brian Taylor

Contractor: University of California, Los Angeles

Contract Number: 21RD008

Relevant CARB Programs: Climate Change

Topic Areas: Sustainable Communities

Research Summary:

The project will assess the decision-making process and the project performance evaluation methods used by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) staff, Boards, and community advocates for the selection and evaluation of Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCS) and projects in Regional Transportation Plans (RTP). The goal is to develop a deep understanding of how MPOs select the projects that appear in their RTPs project list and SCS implementation. The project will also examine how selection processes has evolved over time and identify how project performance is tracked after implementation. The project results will help to inform future Senate Bill (SB) 150 Reports. The results will also help to inform future attempts to align regional and local plan-making and project selection with California climate and equity goals.